National Rally Lawmaker Calls EU Parliament Report On Russia-EU Ties Pointless Provocation

STRASBOURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th September, 2021) A rough draft assessment of the European Union's strategy in relations with Russia, prepared by European lawmakers for approval at the plenary session of the European Parliament (EP), is nothing but a "senseless escalation," Thierry Mariani, an MEP and a member of the French right-wing party National Rally, told Sputnik.

"We are seeing some kind of senseless escalation. Each new report (on Russia) becomes even tougher than the previous one. This is surprising: why do we need to add sanctions to sanctions or make new accusations... given there has been nothing new in the (bilateral) relations for a long time? Where do some people want to take us, the question arises," Mariani said.

The authors of the report are seeking "a complete freeze of relations with Russia," the lawmaker is convinced. Europe and Russia are situated on one continent, so it is high time Brussels recognized Moscow as a partner, he added.

The politician recalled that all EU hostility toward Russia is based on human rights-linked accusations, while the bloc does not voice such claims to other states, including Turkey.

"All this is resembling some kind of hysteria," Mariani noted.

The author of the report in question is Andrius Kubilius, a member of the European Parliament and a former Lithuanian prime minister, who presented the draft document at the EP plenary session on Tuesday. The lawmakers were scheduled to vote on the report on Wednesday, while the results of the voting will be unveiled on Thursday.

The report proposes that Brussels expand sanctions against Moscow, boosts defense capabilities to contain Russia, and be prepared to refuse to recognize the results of the upcoming elections in the State Duma in case it decides that the 2021 parliamentary voting in Russia is fraudulent.

The EP conclusions are advisory rather than binding to the European authorities, including the EU Commission, the EU Council, as well as member states.

The EU parliamentary committee on foreign affairs approved Kubilius' report in July.